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Recession is never an enjoyable experience, but it is a natural economic pattern which we all have to weather. Being positioned well in the employment market can certainly help, but are there any careers which we can consider "recession-proof"? In short: no, there aren't. However, there are a number of industries and fields which provide perennially necessary goods or services. The ability to adapt to ever-changing needs and demands in the following industries can effectively guarantee your career survival in times of recession.

1) Agriculture/Farming: We all need to eat, and what we do eat doesn't materialize out of thin air. Some type of food production will always be the most necessary provision for humanity. Thus, agriculture and farming will survive any recession.

2) Food Services: Unless you're a regular visitor to the weekend Farmer's Market, you don't buy your food directly from the producer. Grocery stores are essentially a collection of centres in the largest distribution industry in the world. The Food Service industry probably isn't going to dissolve due to recession either, though certain single restaurants will certainly suffer.

3) Transportation: Our food doesn't walk to us, nor does anything else for that matter. The Transportation industry, despite changes in fuel source supply and demand, will always be with us to deliver our food, postage, industry goods, construction materials, destruction materials, cleaning supplies, and pretty much everything else imaginable. Even people require transportation on a regular basis, whether it be over further distances to visit family, or over shorter distances simply to get to and from work every day. Our locomotion has evolved to the point where transportation has become an important aspect of every day life.

4) Energy: Energy production is now a mainstay of human living, no matter the source in which it is found. This industry is very safe, but only the most innovative suppliers will come out of a recession on top.

5) Education: While book publishers may be nervous about the burgeoning supply of web print, and school systems are ever-concerned about their governmental budget cuts, there will always be a corner of employment for those interested in Education.

4) Health Care: Health care is one of the most valued luxuries we live with today. After centuries of poor hygiene, religious "healing", and generally bad medical practices, we are not about to let a recession destroy our modern standard of health care and medicine.

5) Death: Unfortunately, death rests for no recession. We have come to accept a very high standard of grievance, and a fairly lucrative industry has benefited from this. Sales of coffins, urns, procession fees, and other funeral expenses will not be affected by any recession.

6) Politics: Even more unfortunately, Political bodies will always exist, through recession or otherwise. Political bodies have always existed: since the birth of civilization and recorded history in the form of kingdoms and tribal groups, right up to today's democratic arms. I believe that even Armageddon itself couldn't wipe politics off the face of the face of the earth, because you'd still have the cockroaches arguing over how best to divide their resources. The good news for us is that democratic bodies employ more people than kingdoms do.

Again, it is important to stress that not all traditional careers as we know them will necessarily survive recession, but the industries listed above will persevere in some form or another. The keenest and most prophetic individuals with careers in these industries can do more than just survive the recession, they can revolutionize their trade for the future.

Learn more about this author, Jeff Gulley.
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